Mystery Animal Is A Hare, Folks

ACROSS OSCEOLA

October 15, 1999|By Mark Pino of The Sentinel Staff

It's a long way from the southern tip of South America to the middle of Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee.

But it appears the mystery creature mentioned in an Across Osceola column earlier this week comes from there. Patagonia, to be more specific. After snapping a picture of one, Sentinel photographer Ed Sackett was having a tough time getting an exact identification of the rodentlike creature.

Where's Jack Hannah when you need him?

Turns out the noted wildlife expert isn't needed. Readers love a mystery. And they love trying to help solve one, too.

Lots of folks called to say they had the answer.

Getting the identity wasn't all that simple.

The creatures, along with emus and peacocks, are just some of the exotic non-native animals left on Cypress Island.

Longtime owner Dick Dickerman imported them and once hoped to open an animal park. While some folks visited the place, that plan, and many others to develop the island, fizzled over the years. The state is in the process of buying the 130-acre island from a land trust.

The purchase will prevent development, which could have hindered lake drawdowns, and might lead to use of the land as a park. Biologists and state water management officials say the drawdowns are necessary to compensate for weeds that thrive because of flood control.

If the island were developed, such drawdowns would have had the potential to strand residents on the island. Problem solved.

Solved, too, is the identity of the island's rodent residents.

It started innocently enough. During a recent tour, Sackett and a reporter spotted the animals. They were told it was a cavy. So far, so good. But cavy, pronounced KAY vee, is a general name for several related South American rodents.

The best-known cavy is a guinea pig. But Sackett's creature was much bigger and it didn't look anything like a guinea pig.

So what was it?

Readers who called in this week said the thing was a capybara. Can you say kap uh BAHR uh?

No way, scoffed one newsroom sage.

Capybaras are the largest of all rodents and can be up to 4 feet long. Sometimes they're known as water pigs or water hogs. They are the favorite food of jaguars, alligators and humans. They have webbed toes and swim well.

Hold on, that sounds like a possible winner. Local gators are already planning a picnic.

But I've looked at pictures of capybaras, and the things out on Cypress Island ain't them.

It appears they are type of a cavy, after all.

Specifically, they're a Patagonian cavy, also known as a Patagonian hare or a mara. Just like the one in Sackett's picture, these creatures possess long, slender legs. To me, they look like a cross between a rabbit, a mouse, a squirrel and a chihuahua.

One reader correctly identified the creature. And without seeing a picture. Nicole Castle says years ago she worked in an animal care center in California and had contact with the animals.

She recognized the island critters when she visited there with her nephew, back when the place was open to visitors.

She even got some good pictures. She says the creatures tend to be elusive.

Thank you, Nicole.

``We had a couple at the animal care center,'' she said. ``They're actually quite shy. They're weird little animals that no one knows quite what to do with.''

At the California center, Castle helped tend to cavies and other exotic pets no longer wanted by their owners.

``They're really good swimmers but they couldn't swim that far [from the island to Kissimmee). The gators would get them.''

The maras are kind of like a South American jackrabbit.

They are active during daytime and feed on plants. They nest in burrows.

Now if they were as prolific as the mice plaguing Apopka, there might be a problem.

Most likely, they're content on Cypress Island.

Even if it's a long, long way from the southern tip of Argentina, these tourists seem to have found a home.